The other day we took a field trip to the Museum of Science in Boston. They have an engineering workshop set up most mornings, which is always a lot of fun. This week the challenge was Extreme Trampolines. They provided trampoline bases, bands to make the structure, and fabric to clip on and distribute the weight/provide a trampolining surface. The museum always has amazing testing equipment. They had drop boxes set up so that the students could place their trampoline inside, shut the door, and press a button for a ball to drop on the trampoline. There was even a sensor and a readout display that showed how high their ball bounced! There is no doubt that the trampoline STEM challenge was a favorite among museum goers.
Looping the bands on the support posts:
When the trampolines were complete, they got to test them out! They could try for either the highest and lowest bounce, make improvements, and test again.
While this was TONS of fun, I know it is not practical to build all of this equipment for a classroom or at home. So for the past couple of days I have been thinking how to make this activity more accessible to everyone. I think I may have found a solution, and it unsurprisingly happened in the kitchen, were many amazing STEM tools can be found.
What you need:
Start by threading one end of a rubber band through a colander hole. Secure with a toothpick and start stretching the rubber band across the colander. Push the other end of the rubber band through another colander hole and secure with a toothpick! This requires fairly advance fine motor control, so either do this with upper elementary kids or be prepared to help out with this step.
When you feel that enough rubber bands are in place to support the trampoline, you can add a piece of fabric. You will probably want to have these pre-cut ahead of time. For this test, we just used a plastic bag:
That’s it! Extreme trampolines you can do at home or school, with supplies you probably already have.
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This is awesome! Thank you for not only posting your inspiration but also a way to make this accessible in a classroom. Can't wait to try it with my students!
You're welcome! I hope your students enjoy it as much as we did.
Thank you for posting this. It seems like a great activity. If you don't mind, i would like to try it with my Year 7s next year when we come back to school. I am looking for new ideas to start a rotation of challenges.
You're welcome! I hope it goes well and your students enjoy the activity.
some people might not have this activity can you make something with material people have a home?
Did you read the whole post? That is exactly what I did. Most people have colanders, rubber bands, and toothpicks. If not they are all available at the dollar store. Hope you can try it! It's a fun one.
I would love to do this with a group of about 30 kids for Summer Camp, but I do not have 10 strainers. What would you suggest as an *cheap* alternative to the strainer that could withstand the pull of the rubber bands? Thanks!
Hi Abby, Thanks for your question. The strainer/colander idea was actually the cheap alternative to the custom bases the museum has. I would suggest checking out the dollar store or a kitchen supply warehouse for inexpensive strainers, or asking for donations in case people are willing to give them up (temporarily or permanently).
We do this activity at our STEAM night for 2nd grade. We got our colanders at The Dollar Store.
I'm finding some great STEM/STEAM projects, but little explanation as to the lesson behind them...What would be the lesson, or explanation, behind this project?
Hi Susie,
This STEM project explores various materials as well as Newton's Laws of Motion. This one is an engineering design problem at its core. You could also look at potential vs kinetic energy, and even spring constants/Hooke's law. I hope that helps!
Meredith
Hi, would plastic colanders work as well?
Thanks,
Arenthia Gray
Yes, plastic colanders should work just fine.
Hi, thanks for replying so soon. Do you have a craft activity or science journal type log for the students to "take home" and share their observations? I'm doing this with over 100 students in a few station rotations. LOl
Thanks,
Arenthia
I do have a generic graphic organizer that you can download here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/STEM-Sampler-Pack-with-Sound-STEM-Challenge-and-Engineering-Graphic-Organizer-2220744 but nothing specific to this challenge.
Thank you so much! You have been so helpful!
Looks like fun! Did you give each team a set number of rubber bands and binder clips? Or let them decide how many to use?
They get to decide how many to use.
Thank you for sharing this idea. I love it. We have a district STEM expo with our local college and this is great STEM project for my third graders. How many different materials did you use and what different types did you use?
Just a few different materials. For the bands, you can use rubber bands, paracord, or string. For the cover, you can use fabric, plastic bag, or vinyl tablecloth pieces. =)
Hey!
How long did this project take?
From,
Jazzy